I'm writing this on the Gateway notebook right now.I really only make use of it when I'm away on a break or on occasion in the classroom. First, I love being able to flip open the screen and find WiFi when out of town. Also, the Gateway does work well when plugged into one of BCIT's many portable projectors. The images on the screen look so much brighter than ordinary, plastic transparencies. Unfortunately, I do not have enough material to justify rolling one of the devices from the A/V closet to the classroom. However, many students feel comfortable doing oral presentations with PowerPoint. During presentation days I need to have this notebook available. I also always take it to school on final examination day. I am able to work on an Excel grade spreadsheet as the test is being written.
Because I don't use my notebook daily, I always have a lot of updating to do whenever I turn it on. It seems that the monthly Microsoft Update Tuesday comes quite frequently. McAfee always grabs a lion's share of my wireless connection upon waking up. There's always something or another than needs to be updated. As well, there are times like yesterday, when I chose to do some updating. I installed Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3 and Messenger Live. That sort of thing plus the subsequent drive defragmentation means that I end up doing more PC housekeeping than useful work.
It's perfectly okay; I actually enjoy maintenance chores. People like me would never be happy with devices which run the Mac OS. They are designed for the poor bloke who probably has no idea where the hood latch is on his vehicle and who probably pays someone else to paint his bathroom.